My go-to pumpkin muffins recipe for years! Light and tender pumpkin muffins, perfectly domed and with a lightly crispy top, they are my idea of the perfect pumpkin muffin!
My go-to pumpkin muffin recipe for years has been these Simply Perfect Pumpkin Muffins. They are the best pumpkin muffins I have ever tried and they are the first thing I crave when the weather cools.
What makes these pumpkin muffins simply perfect?
- These easy pumpkin muffins require just a few simple pantry items. I love that these pumpkin muffins require no butter, so they come together really quickly.
- They are light, tender and fluffy, not greasy and heavy, like pumpkin muffins can sometimes be.
- These pumpkin muffins also mix up easily, with no butter to soften, as they use oil instead.
- And finally, these muffins bake up perfectly domed, so they’re always pretty (and pretty counts!).
What you’ll need
I love that these delicious muffins have just a few simple ingredients!
Pumpkin Puree – be sure to use canned pure pumpkin puree and not canned pumpkin pie filling. If pumpkin puree is not available, you can cook your own pumpkin or use any other cooked squash.
Eggs – use large eggs and take them out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead of time, so they are at room temperature.
Vegetable or Canola Oil – I recommend vegetable oil, specifically, as I feel like it performs best in baking, but canola oil will also work well here.
Sugar – you’ll only need white granulated sugar. It may seem like a lot of sugar, but I recommend you try it as written at least once. I think you’ll find these muffins are not overly sweet.
Flour – use regular all purpose flour (plain flour). I recommend bleached all purpose flour for muffins.
You’ll also need – baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
Step-by-step photos
- Start by adding the eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin in a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix together well at medium speed for about 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon) to the bowl and mix just until combined and smooth. Don’t over-mix.
- The finished batter.
- Scrape down the bowl, then scoop the muffin batter into the muffin cups and bake. If you’d like large, domed muffins, be sure to over-fill the muffin cups, mounding up the batter, leaving just the top edge of the paper muffin liner showing. Bake muffins until they are lightly golden. The tops should be dry and crispy (not wet looking). Test with a tester. Baking time ranges from 22-30 minutes, depending on muffin size/colour of pan and individual ovens.
Recipe video
Recipe Tips
These muffins are best when they are allowed to get a touch crispy on top, so you don’t want to under-bake them. I like to tap on the top as well as test them with a tester.
No mixer? These muffins will also come together with a bowl and a whisk and little elbow grease :)
- These muffins will come out of the muffin tin well without paper muffin liners, if you don’t have any on hand or if you prefer not to use them.
Variations
Raisins – These muffins are fabulous with added raisins, so if you’re a raisin fan, it’s a variation you should try. Simply soak 1/2 – 1 cup of raisins in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Drain and pat dry, then fold into the batter before scooping into the pan.
Chocolate Chips – similarly, if you are a fan of chocolate chips in pumpkin muffins, stir in 1/2 -1 cup of chocolate chips before scooping the batter into the muffin pan.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
These muffins are their very best on the day they are baked. They will keep 2-3 days at room temperature, but they will start to loose the crispy tops. I like to store them in a not completely air-tight container, to try to preserve the crisp tops a bit better.
These muffins freeze beautifully, so don’t hesitate to freeze them. Place into an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months.Want to save this recipe?
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Get the Recipe: Simply Perfect Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups (400 g) white granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) vegetable oil, I recommend vegetable oil, but canola oil or other neutral-tasting oil will work
- 1 3/4 cups (410 ml) canned pumpkin puree, not pie filling
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. (not convection/fan-assisted). Prepare 16 muffin cups by greasing (both the cup and the top of the tin) or lining with paper liners and lightly greasing top of tin. (These are fairly moist muffins, so paper liners are not really necessary unless you prefer.) Set prepared pans aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the eggs and beat slightly.
- Add the white sugar, oil and pumpkin and beat thoroughly until well combined and smooth, about 1 minute at medium speed. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth and well combined. Don't over-mix.
- Use a large cookie scoop to divide the batter between 14-16 muffin cups, filling the muffin cups almost to the top of the cup or liners and mounding the batter on top. Just a bit of the paper liner should be showing.
- Bake in preheated oven for 22 –27 minutes, or until golden brown. Baking time will vary depending on how large you made the muffins. 14 muffins will take closer to 25-27 minutes, while if you got 16 muffins, the baking time will be about 22-25 minutes. Test with a cake tester to be sure they are cooked before removing from oven (If undercooked, they will collapse as they cool, so be sure to test. Muffins should be very lightly browned on top and around edges when cooked, with a crisp topping (you can tap it lightly to verify). They shouldn't looks light in colour or wet on top.
- Allow the muffins to cool in pans at 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- These muffins are at their best on the day they are baked, though they will keep for 2-3 days. I like to store them in a not completely air-tight container, so they don't loose their crispy tops too quickly, though they will loose some as they site. If you aren’t eating right away, freezing is a good option to keep the crunch. Freeze in an airtight container up to 3 months.
Notes
Variations
Raisins – These muffins are fabulous with added raisins, so if you’re a raisin fan, it’s a variation you should try. Simply soak 1/2 – 1 cup of raisins in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Drain and pat dry, then fold into the batter before scooping into the pan. Chocolate Chips – similarly, if you are a fan of chocolate chips in pumpkin muffins, stir in 1/2 -1 cup of chocolate chips before scooping the batter into the muffin pan. Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, where you will find more tips, photos and a recipe video that you may find helpful when making this recipe.Web Story for Perfect Pumpkin Muffins
More Pumpkin Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Hey Miss Jennifer
I just used your recipe to make the muffins and I have zero regrets! They are absolutely amazing! I used fresh pumpkin and added a tablespoon of brown sugar to the mix instead of the full two cups of white sugar, and it’s fantastic! Definitely keeping this recipe for future use!
Hi Dan, so good to know! I have zero experience starting with fresh pumpkin (canned pumpkin is just too handy here :), so great to know it doesn’t need pre-cooking. So much easier. Thanks so much!
Best pumpkin muffins we ever tasted! I replace 1/3 of flour with powdered chia seeds & add 1/2 tsp of nutmeg & 1/2 tsp of ginger & sprinkle brown sugar on top before cooking! MMmmmmMmmMmm soooooooo gooooood!!
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much :)
I have a fan assisted oven. Baked for 20 minutes and they were a bit over cooked. Next time will reduce temperature. ….. that aside, they tasted delicious. Thanks for the recipe :)
Thanks Shaz and yes, all of my recipes are written for non-fan-assisted time/temp. Reducing 25 degrees F should do the trick for fan-assisted.
Hello, do you cook the pumpkin before making it into a purée?
Hi Rama, this recipe is assuming you would be using canned pumpkin puree (which is cooked, of course). I understand canned pumpkin is unavailable in some areas of the world. If you are in that area then yes, you would cook the pumpkin and puree before using in these muffins :)
Hey Rama – I just made these muffins and they turned out fantastic. I didn’t cook the pumpkin at all. I gutted the pumpkin on the table (removing the seeds of course), puréed it in the blender, and went from there. I’m sure they would turn out great if you pre-cooked the pumpkin, but from my experience it’s not necessary
Absolutely brilliant recipe, I couldn’t believe how easy, my nephew tells everyone he hates pumpkin 🎃 he had 4 before I told him lol. I am going to try carrot next v
So glad to hear, Collette! Thanks so much :)
Just a quick message, do you think I could use any other type of sugar? Here in Scotland/ uk we use caster sugar in baking which is finer also all purpose flour is equivalent to our plain flour do you think you could use self raising and take out baking powder ?
Although your measurements are perfect I would be worried to change it.
I’m going to try carrot ones and also apples, will let you know how they turn out !!😄
Hi Collette, so Google is saying that caster sugar can be used 1:1 for the white sugar, if you prefer. It may change the texture slightly, but probably not significantly. As for the flour, my thought would be to stick with the plain flour + baking powder, as self-raising is also salted and this recipe has no added salt (though there is some sodium in the pumpkin). Using self-raising may result in a too salty muffin. Hope that helps :)
Thanks I can’t believe I’m just getting back ! I did as you suggested and used plain flour and just used granulated. Here we don’t use a lot of pumpkin 🎃 unless in season but I have substituted it for bananas and my son can’t get enough of them ! Yesterday I mixed banana and pineapple together as didn’t have enough banana anyway turned out great going to try apple next. Thanks jennifer
So glad to hear, Collette :) Thanks!
I made this and it’s really amazing. I added nutmeg, allspice and 1/4 of sea salt. I used the left over butter nut squash we had for dinner. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thanks so much, Corrie :)
Thank you so much for sharing this Jennifer!! My first-time-ever-muffins turned out to be a 100% success on the Thanksgiving potluck <3 they are amazing, thank you so very much!
So glad to hear, Lada! Thanks so much :)
Hi there !
This recipe for pumpkin muffins really caught my eye…so much so that I will be making them to share after our Sunday Thanksgiving day service.
I wondered what your thoughts would be about dipping the tops in melted butter and then sprinkling with white sugar OR a dollop of cream cheese on top OR any other ideas you may have and would be willing to share…
Many thanks
Sharin
Hi Sharin, I know it’s hard to believe this without having tried these muffins, but these ones need absolutely nothing else. Not even a smear of butter on it. These are already a simply perfect pumpkin muffin, just as they are and doing anything else too them would be unnecessary. Hope you’ll trust me on this :) Your guests will love them!
Do you think the recipe would still turn out if I halved the amount of sugar??
Hi Matricia, as a general rule, you can probably reduce the sugar in muffins/cakes by 20-25% without creating significant issues. Do note though that in addition to reducing the overall sweetness of the muffin, reducing sugar will also reduce both the moistness and shelf-life of the finished muffins. Reducing by 50% is moving into territory that will likely affect the quality of the finished muffin more significantly. As I’ve never done it myself, I can’t tell you exactly what that looks like. The only way to know is to try it and decide if the finished product is acceptable to you.
I halved this receipe and it turned out great! Made 10 large muffins. I did not reduce the cinnamon and added 1/2 tsp each of nutmeg and allspice. Lovely muffins! Will definitely make again!
So glad to hear, Lisa :) Thanks!
I am missing October and the pumpkin flavored everything, was excited to find this recipe. My son and I love these muffins! Feels like fall in this freezing winter weather here. Thank you for sharing your recipe :)
I miss October, too :) So glad you are enjoying these. Thanks!
I made these muffins for the first time, and they were good. The second time: I added 1 tsp. vanilla and 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and they were AMAZING! It’s a great recipe, thank you so much Jennifer!!!
Sounds delicious, Jen! Thanks :)
These are amazing! I added a cup or so of gently crushed pecan nuts and they were awesome!
So glad you enjoyed them, Sarah :) Thanks!
I had pumpkins I wasn’t able to carve for Halloween so I cooked them and pureed them. Not wanting to make generic pumpkin pie I searched high and low for a basic simple pumpkin muffin recipe.
Low and behold yours was the winner.
So simple. I had to double the recipe as I was short 1/4 cup of puree from what id thawed already so I made a tonne of minis along with the normal size.
10-12 mins for the minis seems sufficient to give them a nice golden brown colour!
Huge hit. My husband and 1 year old daughter put back so many! My husband even grabbed a big one straight out of the hot pan because he couldn’t wait!
Can’t wait to see what the real judge, my 10 year old son, thinks of the muffins when he gets home from his bio dad’s!
I have one more small pumpkin left to cook and I know what I’ll be using the puree for!!! ❤️
So glad to hear, Lindsay! Thanks :)
These are wonderful muffins and so easy to make. I am a calorie counter, do you know how many calories are in a muffin.
Thanks Scott and so glad you enjoyed them. My recipe card software calculates the calories to 202 (it’s displayed in the header of all the recipe cards as “Energy”). I would suggest running through your favourite calorie counting tool yourself though, as I can’t vouch for the accuracy (and would depend on how many muffins you got from a batch).